How Male Default Has Impeded Gender Equality through the Emojis

Abstract

Living in a digital age, people conduct the majority of their communication online. Online communication is not only an outlet for expression but a vessel for different ways of expression. One such tool for expression is emojis. However, this type of online communication does not exclude the fact there is default male bias that before 2016 excluded women. The paper seeks to help readers understand the male bias and how it has impacted internet users, especially women. This paper investigates gender inequality in the form of digital communication. This research was conducted through reading other research papers and information regarding the history of emoji communication and making a recommendation for the next steps by compiling all existing data for emojis. It can be concluded that the idea of "male default" has been demonstrated in the design of emoji expression and has impeded the advancement of gender equality.